Wakeman School bows out with top results
The only secondary school to be closed by education bosses in Shropshire as part of a shake-up designed to combat falling numbers saw a significant improvement in its results.
In its last ever GCSEs,The Wakeman School in Shrewsbury school saw 60 per cent of pupils achieve five or more passes at A*-C including English and maths, up from 46 per cent the year before and just below its best ever performance of 61.5 per cent.
The result moved the school's league table position from 27th to 18th.
The Wakeman closed in the summer as part of Shropshire Council's schools reorganisation programme which also saw a number of primary schools shut.
The move came despite an extensive campaign by parents, pupils and teachers to try and save it.
In November 2011, independent school adjudicator Canon Richard Lindley backed the council's decision to shut the school.
Speaking in the summer, headteacher Karen Moore said: "We are delighted for our students, who have had to contend with all the trauma associated with the school's closure."
Cecilia Motley, Shropshire Council's cabinet member for education and skills, said the decision to close the Wakeman had been "extremely difficult" but was the right one "for the future of education in Shropshire."
